The AUTOSAR system has a concept of software components that embody a piece of application functionality. The software components have ports that carry events and data to and from each software component. A piece of software called a runtime environment (RTE) connects the ports of the software components together so that software components can communicate with each other. Therefore, the software components only know about its working environment from the interaction they have with each other over these ports. FIG. 1 shows two software components C1, C2 communicating in an AUTOSAR system via the runtime environment (RTE).
The development of AUTOSAR software components includes three stages: a desktop prototype, rapid prototyping and development on a production electronic control unit (ECU). When developing AUTOSAR software components it may be necessary to bypass all or part of the functionality of a particular software component and provide that functionality elsewhere: either in another software component or on some external system. Existing approaches to bypass a software component are oriented to work with separate and additional communication lines. Therefore, they lack the flexibility and close relationship to the AUTOSAR model of development.